Moore bumped up at Alabama

MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- Mal Moore, who has been a part Alabama's six AP national football championships as either a player or a coach, was named athletic director of the university Tuesday.

Moore, 59, replaces Bob Bockrath, who was forced out in September after three years at the school.

''It's an unbelievable feeling,'' Moore said. ''There is no one that loves this university more than I do.''

Moore had been serving as Alabama's associate director of athletics for football relations and was considered the frontrunner for Bockrath's job as soon as it became open.

His ties to the tradition-rich school -- he played on Bear Bryant's first national championship team in 1961 -- gave him a considerable edge over Sun Belt Conference Commissioner Wright Waters, the only other serious candidate. With an athletic director now in place, the focus turns to the status of football coach Mike DuBose, whose team is 9-2 and headed to the SEC championship game after a season that started in a DuBose scandal.